I know print is far from dead, but it has certainly taken a bit of a backseat to online marketing.

At this moment, though, print is still very much alive. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include print marketing as part of this series on content sharing and repurposing.

For certain products or services, it’s best to reach out to people where they live or work right through their mailbox.

I recall one business that called me and said they were having good success marketing online. But they realized that some of their ideal prospects had no idea to be looking for their services. These were upper-level prospects who probably didn’t have time to be online for their own pleasure much less looking online for a service they didn’t even know existed.

So, they knew they needed to go the print route. There are obvious choices you can use here if you have a lot of information to share. Magalogs, newsletters, bookalogs, slim jims, special reports, sales letters, brochures… they can all can carry great content that you’ve already created.

And that’s the key… great content. We’re so used to only focusing on a sales message that we sometimes forget that compelling content is just as important in print as it is online.

While larger pieces like magalogs and reports can carry lots of custom content, don’t overlook something as simple as a postcard.

Let me give you an example. You sell dark chocolate and you’ve written an article on your blog about the 12 health benefits of dark chocolate.

Each month, you send a postcard to a prospecting list outlining one of the benefits. Somewhere on the postcard, label it “1 of 12”, “2 of 12”, etc. Labeling it like this gets people to be on the lookout for the next in the series if it contains information they find useful or interesting.

Because you want to encourage people to visit you online whether they want to order your chocolate right now or not, you give them a reason to get more of your content on your site. Maybe it’s a video showing how your chocolate is made, or a free, longer guide on the benefits of dark chocolate. There are many possibilities.

The point is, whether you’re using a magalog, a postcard, or something inbetween for your print marketing, you can leverage content that you’ve already created so it’s working extra duty on your behalf.

Other articles in this series:

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Your Starting Point

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Twitter

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Facebook

Content Sharing and Repurposing – LinkedIn

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Google Plus

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Guides & Reports

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Books & eBooks

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Guest Blogging

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Article Banks

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Blog Hubs

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Magazines & Newsletters

One of the great things about a blog is that you become a publisher. Not one with the stress a traditional publisher has. Instead, a publisher that can share content of any kind, at any time.

But you can take that a step further and publish either a magazine or newsletter.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you already have a digital newsletter. They’re easy to create and allow you to keep in touch with customers and prospects. Often these newsletters are in the form of an e-mail.

Your newsletter allows you to reuse content that you might have on your blog, while mixing in fresh content that is just for newsletter subscribers.

Taking it yet one more step further, you could take your content and create a magazine or magalog. Something like this is ideal for service providers like consultants and coaches who want to stand out from competitors. They often already have loads of great content, but not doing near enough to leverage it properly.

One of my favorite examples of a company magazine is Business Blueprint Magazine.

Dale Beaumont’s team puts together a fantastic magazine that educates people, and markets conferences they hold each year. It also allows them to build even closer connections with the people they profile.

I currently do the layout for a monthly magazine a client started in 2011. Again, it’s a perfect vehicle for great content, but includes a marketing aspect that fits in perfectly with the articles.

I took a slightly different approach when I put together my Successful Magalog Marketing magazine. In my case, I didn’t want to produce a magazine on a regular basis. I just wanted a one-time marketing piece that had useful content, but also allowed me to display my layout skills.

In all three of these examples, the magazines aren’t printed which saves money. They’re digital-only. But if you want to print your magazine or newsletter to mail to customers or high-quality prospects, you can do that.

But what if you have no interest in producing your own magazine or newsletter?

Magazines and newsletters produced by others (whether in print or online) always need content. If you’re writing about topics that fit with an existing publication, why not see if they’ll reprint one of your blog articles or allow you to write a brand new article?

I’ve had the privilege of articles being included in different eNewsletters such as Peter Bowerman’s excellent Well-Fed ePub. There are thousands of great eNewsletters covering just about every niche.

When you get your articles published in channels like this, you’re introduced to a group of people you might not have ever had the chance to be in front of.

You’ve heard of Other People’s Money? Well this is Other People’s People. And it’s a win-win. These magazine or newsletter producers need content… you have content.

The simplest path to take from this discussion is to see who is producing a magazine or newsletter that is a good match for the products or services you sell. Find out if they’re willing to take guest submissions that deal with a topic their readers care about.

Always remember… your goal when writing for another publication is not to do blatant selling. Your first goal is to make the magazine or newsletter owner look brilliant in front of his or her readers for having you share your knowledge with them.

And when you’re sincere about sharing and helping, people will be interested enough to look at your bio and click on the link to your site which is often a courtesy extended to guest writers.

If you’re looking to create something along the lines of a magazine or magalog, contact me and I’ll help you sort through the things you’ll need to consider.

Other articles in this series:

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Your Starting Point

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Twitter

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Facebook

Content Sharing and Repurposing – LinkedIn

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Google Plus

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Guides & Reports

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Books & eBooks

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Guest Blogging

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Article Banks

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Blog Hubs

The answer is within your own website.

I don’t know how involved you are with the inner workings of your site. But just about every site has some capability, whether built-in or through plugins, to see which search words or phrases led people to you site as well as to see which words people are searching on once they’re at your site.

Some of these search results won’t surprise you. After all, if you have a site about parakeets, you would expect to see that word come up quite a bit in the list of your site’s top searches, either alone or with other words or phrases.

Where we discover some content gold is related searches we might not have thought of. Or, we had thought of it, but never took the time to write about it because we didn’t think it was an important topic.

Let me give you a personal example.

It’s no surprise with the name of my site, The Magalog Guy, that a focus of mine is magalog marketing. But there are other members of the magalog family… slim jims and bookalogs in particular.

Examining my search data, I discovered people were finding my site based on the phrase “slim jim marketing.”

While I mention slim jims on my sales page, I had never written a specific blog article explaining the differences between a slim jim and magalog.

What the search data told me was that I should address that topic in an educational type of article, not just mention it in the list of services I offer. After all, people were searching on that phrase which made it pretty clear they were looking for answers and/or information on slim jims.

That slim jim article has become one of the most popular on my blog. And that’s simply because I was paying attention to what other people were wanting information about. Prospects were clearly telling me what they wanted to know more about, and I gave it to them.

That’s a huge part of content marketing… giving people information they want. The trick, of course, if figuring out what they want.

In this example, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. It was just a matter of being aware of the resources I already had available to “hear” what they were saying.

Certainly mining your search data alone isn’t enough to keep you going on articles long-term. But if your stuck for ideas, this is a good place to look.

One of the content marketing related services I offer is helping businesses see all the content available to them specifically. If you’re not ready for that step, I’ve put a few tips into a free guide called Great Ideas for Generating Great Content that you’ll find on the Resources page of the Klassen Communications website.

Here’s the link to see the Magalog Guy in Australia if you’re interested in the overview and seeing some pictures.

During the magalog discussion, I was really impressed with the questions, especially considering that magalog marketing was a new idea for many of the people I talked to.

One question in particular stuck out: What are your thoughts on including third-party ads in your magalog?

Most of the magalogs I work on for clients are selling a single product or service. For that reason, ads by other companies could distract from the main message and potentially takes sales away from them. For those clients, the focus needs to remain completely on the product/service being sold.

But remember… there are usually no concrete rules with magalogs that apply in every situation.

While I don’t remember the details, I believe the person asking the question was creating a magalog selling educational products to teachers and parents.

As I listened to her talk about the purpose of her magalog, I could see that ads (the right type of course) could be a benefit. In the arena of educational products, there are certainly a ton of complimentary businesses that she could partner with and who would love to reach her audience.

But there would obviously need to be a benefit to her for including any ads. So we discussed a few potential options.

1. Straight sale for the ad space. This is pretty obvious. If someone wants an ad in your magalog, they could pay for the space just like they’d pay for ad space in a newspaper or magazine. That money could help offset the production costs of the magalog.

2.  A cut of sales generated from an ad. Instead of paying for ad space, the ad would use a unique URL related to the magalog or your business. A percentage of sales generated from that URL goes to you, the magalog producer. This could be ideal for a new company that doesn’t have much of an ad budget. It probably goes without saying that you’d want to be really sure you have something in place to track how much money is being generated from the ad.

3. You get access to their mailing list. Instead of any money changing hands, ask the third-party for permission to mail to their list if they have a significant list and it’s one that is complimentary to your product/service. I was going to say a good list is priceless, but they do find a way to put a price on it, don’t they? The better the list, the higher the cost. But if you believe you can generate more sales and add new customers from their list, an ad in your magalog to get that list for free or deeply discounted is worth considering.

Now I know the details of making this work is more complex than I make sound in this list.

The point is that third-party ads should not always be immediately dismissed. Just the opposite… it may be something you want to actively pursue if you determine that it won’t be a detriment to your own sales and that you get a useful benefit from it.

Think of this as Magalog Marketing 101… what a magalog (slim jim, bookalog, issuelog) is, magalog samples, successful traits of magalogs, and much more.

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89v1PvvAPEk

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DnrgGHVbGs

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq4YQVJI0S8

Part 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve6LsgT7L7c

If you have questions or want to talk about how to put this powerful marketing format to use for your product or service, let’s talk. I offer a free project analysis to first discover whether a magalog is right for you. If so, we can get the ball rolling.

If a magalog isn’t right for you, we can discuss other options that will have the best impact.

That free phone chat is yours for the asking. Contact me so we can schedule a time to talk.

I also consult on magalog copy and layout if you’re planning to tackle a project like this in-house.

And feel free to contact me if you’d like this Magalog Marketing 101 webinar given to your group.

(For those reading this on the Kindle, please visit this blog directly to view the videos: http://www.magalogguy.com/blog)

No matter what your business is, I think these two articles have something worth considering.

The first article, Video E-Commerce and SEO: Lights! Camera! Action!, talks about the value of video in your search results and rankings.

I’m slowly coming around to video with my Magalog Guy YouTube channel. I don’t mind telling you that I kind of stink at it right now. But that’s to be expected when you’re doing something new.

This part of the article caught my eye:

Web pages with video are, on average, ranked much higher than those without. What’s more, Google presents video-powered search results as part of its universal search result pages (the standard search that most people use). Those searches are much more appealing and eye-catching than their textual counterparts because they have video properties and a video thumbnail attached, taking up more page real estate.

Another point in the article is that YouTube is one of the most popular search engines. It’s not just for videos of cats playing the piano or some little kid hitting his dad between the legs with a well-placed hit of the baseball.

In fact, there’s hardly a topic that doesn’t have at least a few videos that discuss it.

So the question is, are you showing up in YouTube when people are searching on your ideal keywords?

The second article, A Preview of Google Instant Previews: Is it a Game Changer?, caught my eye because of the mention of Flash.

With the iPhone and iPad, Flash definitely isn’t getting any love. Google Instant Previews may also join that group.

Google Instant Previews is kind of shocking. When you do a search, there’s a little magnifying glass next to each result.

What I found shocking is when I looked at my site for the preview, I saw that Google highlights some text from my homepage that features the word magalog. It’s mentioned a number of times on my site, but it picks the one it likes best to highlight. That can be kind of scary when you don’t have control over it. (I happen to think it picked well in my case.)

Just thinking out loud, but what affect might that highlight have on which site someone chooses to actually visit? What if that highlight makes a difference between you getting a hit or your competitors?

But what stood out in the article was the bit about how Flash may not play nicely with Google Instant Previews:

One of the biggest challenges companies are currently facing in regard to GIP is the “this content requires Flash warning” message. When consumers get a blank box that says “to view this content you must have Javascript enabled and you need the latest version of Flash installed,” it all but forces them to look to the next search result on the list.

As I write this, Google Instant Previews is still new, so we don’t know how this story will end. But between GIP and the fact that the incredibly popular iPhone and iPad don’t display Flash, it does make you wonder if it’s worth using on your site.

Obviously there are lots of considerations you have to weigh with both video and Flash. But it’s best to be aware of what’s happening on the technology front so your website is having the maximum impact possible.

I would strongly urge you to read both articles.

Over the last year, I’ve thought a lot about passion in terms of the work we do.

This really came into focus being a guest on Bill Gluth’s Power of Passion in Business interview series.

Sometimes we suddenly realize we’re doing something we’re no longer passionate about. Other times, we may see our passion diminished as the day-to-day grind wears us down.

I’m guessing your passion is the actual product or service you offer. If you’re an ethical business person, you believe beyond any doubt that your product or service can really help people.

Your passion probably isn’t for the little details of running your business… paying the bills, finding suppliers, shipping products, or dealing with your marketing material.

It’s all important stuff. But the real fun is helping people get the results they want with your product or service. It’s that connection between you and your customer or client.

If you’re a public speaker, for example, your passion shines brightest when you’re speaking… not when you’re scheduling speeches, managing your invoices, or waiting at the airport to get to your next speaking gig.

Again, it’s all important stuff. But you probably didn’t become a public speaker because you enjoy airport security lines or making cold calls to line up your next presentation.

You love sharing what you know to help people. So you tolerate the rest and manage it as best you can because it allows you to do what you’re actually passionate about.

As I mentioned, you are probably not passionate about your marketing material. You know it’s important and you want it to be great. But it’s not something you get really excited about when you wake up each morning.

However, your marketing material is my passion. Why? That’s a good question and one I’ve thought a lot about.

I truly believe content helps businesses make a deeper connection with their prospects and customers.

I believe it so much that, not only did I write a book with that concept in the title (Increase Sales & Build Deeper Connections), I’m traveling all the way to Australia this year to talk to a group about leveraging their content to reach far more people than they’re reaching now.

While I’m primarily a designer, I love to write and create my own content to not only generate business for myself, but also to help people in whatever way I can.

You can see that from the book, this blog, the Magalog Guy Podcast, my magalog webinar, and guest articles I do for other sites and publications.

I know the value that unique content has in helping a business stand out from the pack, and showing prospects and customers that you have the answer to their needs.

As a designer, this love for content has translated into a focus on projects that put the spotlight on content… magalogs, books, sales letters, and training material.

What those projects have in common, even when the intent is to sell a product or service, is content that educates and helps people achieve certain goals or solve specific problems.

My goal for those projects isn’t to show off what I can do as a designer. It’s to put content into the best possible light so it’s easy for people to get your message.

Those types of projects also allow you the space to really go into your passion about what you do and what you believe.

My desire is to work with people who are passionate about what they do. These are the folks who believe so strongly in what they’re offering that they can’t help but tell other people about it.

Being around and working with these people makes my work even more fun.

Do you have that passion for what you do?

If so, let’s find out how we can work together to ensure that your target market catches your passion through your marketing material. Let’s make sure you’re leveraging your content so that it resonates with the people you want to reach. We want to use that content to build credibility and trust in what you’re offering.

In a similar way, I want to build credibility and trust with you. That’s why I offer a free call to talk about your needs in the area of content and marketing. It’s why I offer a number of free resources so you can get to know me better.

Most of my clients have been with me for a number of years. That’s because they trust me to be looking out for them and sharing their passion for what they do. If that’s the type of person you want on your team, contact me this week to setup a time to talk by phone.

If we both find there’s not a good fit, no harm done. I still think you’ll get some good ideas that you can apply to your business.

If there is a good fit, I’ll look forward to combining the passion for what I do with the passion you have to reach your goals with your product or service.

Some of you might remember Prodigy. Prodigy was one of the most popular online services in the U.S. until AOL overtook them. (Actually, AOL stomped them into the ground, but I was trying to be kind.)

For a short time, I was a freelance writer and forum host for Prodigy. I loved being online and connecting with people from other countries once the World Wide Web exploded.

Today, it’s easy to take for granted how easy it is to connect with people around the world. Back then it seemed like magic (after the racket of the dial-up modem was finished) to get online and make connections with people in different countries.

Personally, I enjoy the opportunities to work with anyone in the world. In fact, as a designer, I’ve never actually worked with anyone in Washington State where I currently live.

Nothing against my fellow state residents… it just worked out that most clients are somewhere else. And in some cases, I’ve never even talked to my clients on the phone… all communication has been done via e-mail.

I mention this because my reach has expanding beyond North America. Recently it was my privilege to give a webinar-based presentation to a group in Australia. And in 2011, I’ll be visiting Australia to speak at a business conference.

And I’ve been noticing more visits to this site by people in other countries, especially as they discover the value of magalog marketing.

If you’re one of those visitors, I hope you won’t let our distance discourage you from talking with me to determine if we’d be a good fit for your marketing projects.

Between e-mail and lost-cost phone alternatives like Skype, it’s increasingly easy to work with people around the world, especially when it comes to the creation of your marketing material.

—–

Need a designer to help boost sales and response?

Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your marketing projects

About Mike Klassen – The Magalog Guy

Why we should be working together

If someone tells you they’re a writer, what instantly pops into your mind?

Both those words cover a lot of ground. Music can cover rock, country, jazz, classic and more. Writing can cover fiction, non-fiction, technical, marketing and more.

While not as wide-reaching as music and writing, the word magalog (or catazine as some people use) now covers a lot of territory. While it is commonly considered to be a combination of magazine and catalog, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

First, magalogs are not new. I’ve been seeing that assertion a lot recently. Magalogs have been around since at least the 80s, possibly earlier.

The reason magalogs might seem new to people is that other industries are starting to see their value. For them, magalogs are new.

If you’ve been in the health and financial industries, magalogs are far from new. Those magalogs tend to be what I call the sales letter style. They’re a long-form sales letter, supplemented by lots of sidebars, graphics and colors.

Some people looking at classic magalogs for the first time are a bit taken aback by that. “It looks so… sales-y,” they say. Yes!! That’s the point… to make a sale.

I realize it may not look high-class like a New York lifestyle magazine, but that’s not always the style we’re after in direct sales and marketing. In fact, I once had a client turn thumbs-down on a magalog cover draft I did because it looked too much like a magazine.

Having said that, new industries are adopting the magalog format and turning them into something more like a traditional, high-end magazine.

Both styles have their place, and both styles work. It’s simply a matter of what you’re going for and what your target audience responds to. You can’t dismiss any style based strictly on your own feelings of what marketing material has to look like.

I encourage you not to become a slave to the word magalog. Just this week I read someone’s blog where the writer got annoyed because the magalog he got in the mail was only selling one product.

He was getting hung up on the catalog portion of magalog. In his mind, if it’s a catalog, it must sell multiple products.

Again, don’t get hung-up on the word… focus on the purpose that we use a magalog for and go with the style your target will respond to.

This was in the days before the Internet was popular. So if you had a press release back then, you were at the mercy of the traditional media outlets.

That’s obviously not the case today.

It’s not my purpose here to tell you how to write a press release. I really like the PRWeb site and they have a lot of resources for writing releases if you need help.

Instead, I want to give you some reasons to start using press releases.

The value of press releases for your business

The reason for writing a press release hasn’t changed over the years: You want publicity for your business, preferably free publicity.

Beyond that, a press release helps you to stand apart from your competition, lets people know of new products/services, announces company victories, and much more.

I did a press release a few years ago about me teaching direct market design techniques at a copywriting and design conference. To be honest, there was really nothing newsworthy about the press release.

Yet it spread like wildfire. I found it referenced on design-related websites around the world. In some cases, the press release was automatically pulled and added to sites as a news blurb based on keywords in the release.

The bottom line was that I was getting exposure in places I would have never thought (or had time) to contact on my own. It didn’t hurt my search engine rankings either.

What you can talk about in your press release

I mentioned a few things earlier… standing apart from your competition, announcing new products/services, announcing company victories.

But with a little imagination, you can come up with a much longer list. Your press release can talk about:

• How your product/service relates to something in the news or a current trend
• A Facebook Fan Page you just created
• A positive testimonial for a customer/client
• A new client you just landed
• A new magalog you just put out
• Personnel changes

In the old days, you might get your local paper to mention those things. But beyond that you’d probably be out of luck. Considering all the news that happens each day, these things just wouldn’t rate very high.

But this isn’t the old days. You have far more control over getting the word out, and far more avenues to do it.

It might seem challenging to come up with topics, but awareness is the key. As an experiment, at the end of each day (or week) think about everything that happened with your business. If you had to write a press release about one thing, what would it be.

Where should you send your press release?

First, any press release you write should immediately go on your own web site. From there, you can submit your press release to any number of free and paid press release services.

As mentioned, I like PRWeb. The minimum price for a press release (as I write this) is $80. So personally, I’m not going to use them unless I have something that I believe is newsworthy.

For that money, you do get some interesting tracking features. And when people see your release on the PRWeb site, it also includes an autoload of your site.

Here’s an example of a press release for my book, Increase Sales & Build Deeper Connections: How To Get Prospects To Pay Attention To The Story They Want And Need To Hear Before They Buy.

The results in this Google search of my press release will vary greatly depending on when you’re reading this blog article. But for the most part, my press release is getting some sort of exposure in a variety of sites, and it took no effort on my part to get them there beyond writing and submitting the press release.

Some other sites I’ve used (which are free as I write this) are:

• http://www.ewebwire.com/
• http://www.pr-inside.com/

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more you can use.

So, why bother with all this? After all, you’re probably busy enough as it is. Well, it’s yet another marketing channel that falls under the category of, “You never know where someone is going to trip over you.”

When people are looking for information about you or searching in your niche, you want them to see your name as often as possible. Press releases are another way to get to quickly and inexpensively got your name out there.

If you want to learn more about proper PR by an expert, be sure to listen to my interview with the Promo Diva, Traci Hayner Vanover. (If you’re listening from my podcast page, it’s episode 13.)

That’s not to say you should ditch your business cards and carry a trunk-load of books around with you.

But one of the points I always make about magalogs also applies to books: If you’re one of the few in your niche using them, you’re going to stand out and be perceived as the expert in your field.

Speaking at a local event? Have a few copies of your book handy.

Reaching out to a great prospect through the mail? Include a copy of your book.

Want to increase the chances of getting media interviews? Let people know you wrote a book.

Like magalogs, books give you the space (even more-so than magalogs) to deal with the pain points your customers have, and prove you’re the one take care of them. Maybe that leads to the reader hiring you. Or perhaps your book has the total solution.

Either way, you’re standing out from the pack. (And if your niche is filled with people who have their own books, where do you think you might rank when prospects are looking for someone?)

There’s a lot of effort that goes into putting a book together which is why it stands out… not everyone will commit to it. It’s not something to do halfheartedly or simply as a vanity project.

Books were among my first projects as a designer and one of my current projects is a book. In fact, I have another site that focuses on my book layout work: Book Layout Studio.

If you’re considering a book, or trying to figure out how to come up with the content for a book related to your niche, contact me so you can start gathering information on what’s involved. That way, you can make a more accurate decision on whether a book would benefit your specific situation or not.

If you search on slim jim, you’re hit with food and locksmith-related entries. For our purposes, though, a slim jim is part of the magalog family.

Where a magalog is traditionally about 8.5 x 11 inches, a slim jim is around 5.5 x 10. So the primary difference is that a slim jim is narrower than a magalog and can be shorter.

I have to fudge and say “around 5.5 x 10″ because printing and mailing costs can affect the size. Sometimes a change in the size can have a significant impact on those costs. That’s why I always recommend talking to a print broker if you don’t have a printer you trust to look out for you.

Because a slim jim is smaller than a magalog in physical size, it’s often larger in terms of page count. The smallest slim jim I’ve ever worked on was 24 pages.

That doesn’t mean a slim jim can’t have fewer pages. But if a company is wanting to test a magalog against a slim jim, obviously the smaller size of the slim jim will require more pages to hold the same amount of copy.

So why use a slim jim?

First, it gives you a different look. Don’t forget that part of the goal of any marketing piece is to stand out and be read. The slim jim format is different in size from magazines and traditional first-class mail. So it stands out.

Second, there can be a benefit in terms of printing and mailing compared to a typical magalog. There can be other variables involved in those costs. But it’s worth keeping that in mind when considering a magalog vs. a slim jim.

Oprah Winfrey used a slim jim for one of her promotions. I displayed a few pages from that slim jim in my Boosting Response and Revenue with Magalogs webinar that you can view on for free. (By the way, I present that webinar to different groups. If you’re interested, be sure to contact me.)

While the Oprah slim jim wasn’t my design, if you’re interested in seeing a full slim jim, not just a few pages, you can see one I did for a client on my Issuu site.

While it would be the designer’s challenge and not yours, you should be aware of how a slim jim affects order forms and longer sidebars. On the sample from Issuu, take a look at the order form on page 23. It’s packed! The challenge for your copywriter will be to keep the content to a minimum.

Also, check out page 16, one of many examples where we can’t take the term “sidebar” literally. While that slim jim does have some examples of content that is “on the side,” the significant sidebars like you see on page 16 are dropped strategically in the middle of the copy. Otherwise, as true sidebars, they’d cross pages which is something we didn’t want.

Again, that’s the challenge for your designer and copywriter, not you. But as always, I like you to know what’s happening behind the scenes whenever possible.

For now, hopefully you have enough information to consider whether a slim jim should be part of your marketing mix in the future.

To give you a quick visual comparison, I’m linking to a very short video I put together about slim jims for my YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AEYkQREmbI

If you have other questions, I do offer a free consultation by phone to talk about things like this. No high-pressure sales tactics. We’ll both know whether the conversation should continue or whether getting some answers to questions is good enough.

You can learn more about that and why we should be working together here.

Contact me today to schedule a time for this free call.

I also offer a number of free resources – including this blog – to help you consider some proven ways of approaching your marketing that you might not be doing now.

While a major focus of the book is magalog marketing, much of what I talk about applies to other marketing platforms. I also tackle some customer service issues, and tips for DIY marketing projects.

Here’s a list of the chapters in the book:

• Why Print Marketing Still Matters
• Yes, People Still Read Printed Marketing Material, But There’s A Catch
• What Is A Magalog?
• A Magalog Primer: The Expanded Version
• Why I Sometimes Steer People Away From Magalogs
• The Magalog’s Untapped Lead Generation Potential for Consultants
• The Best Two Word Call-To-Action I’ve Ever Seen
• What A Free Apple Computer Reinforced About Great Customer Service
• Are You Driving Away Business With E-mails Like This One?
• Small, Positive Actions Create Loyal And Happy Customers
• How Much Does A Magalog Cost?
• 3 Easily Avoided Mistakes Companies Make With Magalogs
• Be Careful Using Stock Photos For Testimonials
• 4 Reasons For Finding A Freelance Designer Before You Need One
• The Value Of A Great Magalog Copywriter
• Avoiding Pain When Printing And Mailing Your Magalog
• Is Your Designer Pricing Your Project Fairly?
• 4 Points To Consider When Judging Your Designer’s Work
• Why You Should Request Your Designer’s Source Files
• 10 Things You Must Know About Magalog Design
• 6 Design Tips To Save Your DIY Marketing Material From Disaster
• Why Magalogs Shouldn’t Be Your Only Marketing Vehicle

The book is available as a PDF and an ePub. For the ePub version, it’s only been tested on the iPad and will require you to manually put the file on your iPad through iTunes.

The book and many other free marketing and magalog resources are available here.

So why I watch The Next Food Network Star on the Food Network is a bit of mystery to me. I stumbled across the series a few years ago and have a been a fan ever since.

If you’re not familiar with the show, people compete in cooking and television hosting challenges with the winner getting his or her own TV show on the Food Network.

Watching an episode the other day, I was struck by a comment made by one of the show’s judges, Bob Tuschman, the network’s Senior Vice President of Programming and Production.

He took a contestant to task for simply giving tips during a TV camera challenge. He wanted to hear a story. A story is what helps people relate to the host and keeps them watching a show week after week. The host’s personality and stories are what makes his or her particular show unique.

Hmm. Sound familiar?

Anyone can create marketing material that sticks to the facts. In some cases, that might be enough. But I’d hate to bet my business on it.

Instead, find ways to put you or your company’s personality into all your marketing… from printed pieces like magalogs or sales letters, to online avenues such as your website.

Tell your audience stories they can relate to and give them a reason to keep coming back to you. Otherwise you risk sinking down into the crowd with your other competitors.

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Need a designer to help tell your story?

Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your marketing projects

About Mike Klassen – The Magalog Guy

Why we should be working together

The Boosting Response and Revenue with Magalogs Webinar is a 30-minute presentation walking you through what a magalog is, what goes into successful magalogs, and a look at a variety of magalogs, including one used by Oprah Winfrey.

The link will take you to the webinar page where you can either view it in your browser, download it to your desktop, or link to the Magalog Guy YouTube Channel where it’s broken down into four parts.

If you’d like me to give this presentation to your group, where we can also include a Q&A session, feel free to contact me so we can set something up.

The point of the webinar is not to sell you on using a magalog. As I say in the webinar, a magalog isn’t always the right choice.

But since some people are hearing about magalogs for the first time, this is a great educational piece to understand why magalogs are such a powerful marketing tool and how they allow you to, as I say in the sub-title of the webinar, make a deeper connection with prospects and customers.

I also talk about something more important than magalogs… being authentic in your marketing material. It’s a topic that applies to more than magalogs and ignoring it has sunk plenty of marketing campaigns.

So I hope you get a lot from this free webinar, whether you want to use a magalog or not.

But there’s an aspect to that project that I wanted to talk about today. And as someone who might need the services of a designer (or copywriter, for that matter) it’s important you be aware of this.

I’ve said in the past that projects that end with log can be more of an investment… magalog, issuelog, catalog, bookalog. These types of projects are typically more complex, especially from a design point of view. Naturally, that will cost more.

Having said that, a common rookie designer mistake (or, unfortunately, an intentional money grab by a more experienced designer) is to price a project based on what it’s called rather than the content.

This bookalog project I’m working on is a perfect example.

When the client contacted me and said he wanted a bookalog, I immediately thought of other bookalogs I’ve been involved with or seen. Many are quite complex.

However, in this case, the copy was very simple and the layout would be very simple. In fact, it wouldn’t be much different than a sales letter. It’s just that the size of the layout would be different. To top it off, there would be no graphics involved, and it was a single color.

So while the project is a bookalog, the layout work on my end is more like a sales letter. And based on that, the price I quoted the client was over 50% lower than the average price of a more complex bookalog. I priced the project more like my average sales letter work.

The point here is that the project price was based on the content and what needed to be done, not based on the format name.

If that seems obvious to you that it should be that way, I can assure you not all creative folks work like that.

Granted, it can be hard for you to know what a fair price is if you don’t have much experience working with designers or copywriters.

That’s why I always encourage you to talk directly with any designer or copywriter you might choose. Or ask business colleagues who they would recommend. In other words, do as much research as you can so you’re as confident as possible that you’re picking the right person.

—–

Need a designer to help boost sales and response?

Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your marketing projects

About Mike Klassen – The Magalog Guy

Why we should be working together

A bookalog is a variation of a magalog. As you might guess from the name, the bookalog is much like a small, paperback book.

As with magalogs, bookalog sizes vary, but 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches is pretty common.

For page count, it can be all over the map. The one I’m working on now is 32 pages. I’ve seen one that’s over 70 pages. (And like magalogs, bookalogs tend to be done in page increments of four… 24, 28, 32, 36, etc.)

The style can vary as well. Some are just as colorful as a traditional magalog. Others are just like a fiction or non-fiction book with no graphics and a single, black color for the text.

For the binding, bookalogs can be saddle-stitched (stapled in the spine) or perfect-bound which is the same as the paperback books you buy at the bookstore. The page count will help determine what type of binding you’ll need.

Like others formats in the magalog family, bookalogs have their place.

Because bookalogs tend to have more pages, they have a bit more weight which helps them stand out in the pile of mail you get each day. I’ve talked about this numerous times in relation to magalogs, but simply the fact that a bookalog looks different from the rest of your mail gives it an extra glance when other marketing mail in the pile is being ignored.

There can also be a perception of higher value with a bookalog because, generally speaking, we place a higher value on books. And, it’s not every day someone is marketing to you in the mail through a book. Again, it stands out.

Some people use the bookalog format for long copy that’s currently converting well for them online. Realizing that not everyone is online or will stumble across them online, they want to reach “offline” prospects as well.

If the copy has been working well as a traditional printed sales letter, they might try the bookalog format as a test. If the style is remaining basically the same as the sales letter, and we’re not adding lots of new graphics or colors, the bookalog can be a more affordable format to test compared to a traditional magalog, at least in terms of the design cost.

Health and financial topics have been the biggest focus of bookalogs. But just like magalogs are now being used in all sorts of new arenas, bookalogs may follow that trend.

One area where I think a bookalog could be a strong consideration is coaches/consultants/trainers who offer higher-end workshops or seminars.

The bookalog format could be a mini book filled with business- or success-building ideas, but with a strong sales component leading people to sign-up for those workshops or seminars.

A bookalog might also be used to provide multiple samples of books that a company markets.

Whether it’s a good option for you is something to think about. And that’s why I wanted to talk about bookalogs today… so you’d be aware of another option for your marketing.

As always, I’m happy to discuss your marketing projects with a free call. Feel free to contact me in which ever way suits you best.

Finally, if you’re new here, let me take a moment to explain why we should be working together on your next project.

Since all of my design work is for print, I know it’s not. But that doesn’t mean print is as strong as it once was. Or that it’s the best option for certain sales and marketing goals.

But after two project consultations in the last couple of weeks, it certainly became even clearer to me why print still matters.

In these two calls, I was talking with businesses that primarily market online. In one case, the business was an online service with no physical product to sell.

Here’s what both discovered: Many of their ideal customers don’t know to be looking for them online. Both companies had valuable services, but their audience is not the type who sit around at the computer, magically coming up with the right search terms for services they don’t know exist.

So how do you reach those people? Well, you need to get a little more direct. You can’t keep waiting around, hoping your ideal customers stumble across you.

It was at that point that these two businesses contacted me. They knew that despite whatever success they were having marketing online, they were still missing valuable customers by not reaching out to them directly through print, whether it’s a magalog, a sales letter, or something else.

The print piece would certainly drive readers to their websites. But they felt the first step of engagement needed to occur directly through the mail.

Even if these two companies could reach their target audience through e-mail, it’s getting a bit trickier to cut through the clutter. And in one case, it was unlikely the key person they really needed to reach at each company was the one checking e-mail anyway.

I want to be clear: I’m not saying print is for everyone, for every project, for every niche. It’s not.

I am saying that print, in my experience at this time, is not as dead as some people make it out to be. And I am saying it’s still a vital piece of the sales and lead-generation process in many situations.

Let me give you three more examples.

1. In the business-to-business world, print is still a huge part of the initial lead-generation and sales process. In some companies, the approval process can take months and go through various layers of approval. While you should always use your print piece to drive people online, by and large the companies in the B2B sector expect to see something in print.

2. Speakers and consultants can be in a similar situation to the two companies I mentioned earlier. They may be easily found online… if people know to search for them. But often that’s not the case. Unless there’s an immediate and specific need, people probably aren’t sitting around in their free time searching for speakers and consultants. To start the conversation, get a strong print piece into their hands.

3. Some people, especially in the older generation, tend to be more trusting of print material. We see that a lot in the health industry. Traditional print marketing is what they grew up with. Not that scams don’t exist in print marketing, but there can be a perception that if you have the budget to actually mail something to someone, you’re more legitimate and more worthy of attention. Again, we know that’s not always true. But the perception is there.

So, for those reasons and others, I think print still matters… it still has a place… and when you’ve got a great list, great copy, great design, and the appropriate format, it still delivers.

The question is a fair one, but it’s like asking a home builder how much a house costs, or asking a car salesman how much a car costs… it depends.

It depends how big you want your house and how many features you want in it. It depends on the type of car that’s appropriate for you and your family and the features you want in it.

Same with magalog design. For that matter, it’s the same for magalog copywriting, printing, and mailing.

Just like a house or car, there’s a range that you can expect to pay for a magalog. The trouble I’ve found is that when I give a range, most people think their magalog project should be on the lower end of the range. That’s natural and I don’t blame anyone for thinking that way.

When I talk to people during my free project consultations, and have more information to get a sense of what’s involved, I will usually give a pretty good idea of how much the layout of their magalog will cost. But only after I’ve asked a lot of questions.

I can tell you, though, what’s involved in the pricing.

1. Page count – This is probably pretty obvious. The more pages, the more it costs. An average magalog is 16 pages. It can be more, it can be fewer.

2. Size – Magalogs come in various sizes. Your average magalog is about 8.5 x 11 inches, give-or-take. Slim Jims are narrower, tabloids are larger.

3. Complexity – Financial publications, in particular, tend to use tables and graphs that may need to be created from scratch. (Or recreated if the client has website graphs that aren’t print-quality.) The more complexity, the higher the cost.

4. Photo work – Sometimes photos (either stock photos or photos provided by the client) need some degree of prep work in Photoshop. Your designer should be able to explain what’s involved if that is an issue for your project.

5. Stock photo searches – If a large number of stock photos are needed, there may be a search fee. Searching for the right photos can be very time consuming.

6. The copy – Ideally, a designer will see the copy before quoting a price, although it seems to rarely happen that way. Most designers are hired before the copy is complete. That’s smart for the client because you need to book your designer ahead of time and not wait until the copy is done. But seeing the copy, even if it’s a rough draft, helps the designer zero in on a price because some copy (including sidebars and order forms) takes more time to layout than others.

OK… I know you would have preferred to see some specific prices here.

But as you can see from the list, it’s hard to give a good answer until these variables are known.

If you’re serious about a magalog – or any other marketing material for that matter – find a designer you trust and talk it over with him or her.

Obviously, I’d love to be that designer. That’s why I offer a free project consultation by phone to go over your needs and narrow down a price so you know what to expect. During that call you’ll also learn more about me. It’s important that, personality-wise, we’re a good fit for each other.

Until last year, I didn’t think potential clients of mine cared about why I’m a designer and why I love doing what I do.

My belief was that someone who needed a designer really just wanted to see samples and get a sense of whether I’m dependable or not.

I had that belief because that’s how I feel when I’m looking for services. For example, if I need a plumber, I want someone who can do the job. Why he or she became a plumber doesn’t interest me when I’m in need of that service. It might be  a nice discussion after the job is done. But when there’s an immediate need, background info isn’t high on my list.

And there’s the problem. Did you spot it in the last paragraph? It can be tricky, so let me tell you…

My belief about what people want when they came to my site was based solely on how I see the world. I don’t usually care about background information or the ‘why.’ Thus, I believed no one else did.

I was wrong.

Let’s expand this conversation to your business.

It’s fair to say that not everyone cares about the ‘why.’

But – and this is a big one – there are probably enough people who do care that you should consider something on your site and in your marketing material that let’s those people know how you or your company got to where it is and why you do what you do.

In print material, like magalogs, this is a major function of page 2. With a magalog, you have the cover and then the main copy often starts on page 3, a right-hand page, just like most chapters in books start on a right-hand page.

Most copywriters I work with include a “Message from the President” or similar letter on page 2. That letter allows you to expose more of your personality or tell readers some behind-the-scenes information that helps build that deeper connection with customers and prospects.

The fact is, a good number of people need to feel that connection before investing in you. It can be very subtle. They may not even be able to put it into words. They just have a feeling that you’re a better choice.

That’s often a result of you taking the time to explain the ‘why.’

For example, the prospect is making a choice between you and a competitor. You took the time to explain the ‘why.’ Your competitor didn’t.

All else being equal, the prospect feels closer to you because you went beyond the product and let them see behind-the-scenes… you gave them more to relate to than simply, “Here’s my product and here’s what it will do for you.”

This is another case of doing something that doesn’t cost you much except for time. In my case, it was an About The Magalog Guy page on my site. It might be a heartfelt page 2 in your magalog.

(And, yes, many websites have an About section. But too often they lack any emotion or deep insight. It’s more of a ‘just the facts, ma’am‘ type of page.)

If you’re like I used to be, you may have never thought much about the ‘why.’ I’d challenge you to do that today and consider whether it would be a worthy addition to your marketing material.